Part 4: Meth Anne Goes to Jail
by Laura Sandlin

I had been partying all night when police picked me up for possession of a controlled substance. Because I was obviously impaired, officers took me to the hospital to be checked out.

After being medically cleared, I was taken to the juvenile detention center and booked. I was stripped, searched for contraband, taken to the showers, and finally presented with a lovely orange jumpsuit with matching orange sandals before being taken to my cell.

I had already been to the detention center four times previously, so it was pretty easy to maintain my typical I-don’t-care attitude. Whenever that doesn’t work for me, I resort to angry belligerence. Which is why almost always lose any privileges and end up spending most of my time alone in my cell.

I’ve fought most of the other girls in the detention facility at one time or another. It’s funny. Fighting is actually my primary means of human contact because I don’t have visitors or phone calls. My family doesn’t care enough to make the effort.

When my detention time was up, they finally were able to find some family to take me in. But it won’t last. It never does. I usually stay out all night or just run away. I’d rather hang out with older guys and girls, most of whom do drugs and already have criminal records.

When I left the detention center, I was on probation for possession of a controlled substance, theft over $500 and assault. I steal to support my habit. I’d already been through two inpatient drug rehabilitation programs, and one time I even got a job that I held for about a week until they caught me stealing from the till. I needed the money for my next drug buy.

They kept trying to get me to go for counseling, but I’ve only shown up for one appointment. I just didn’t see the point. It’s the same for high school. I mean, I’m already failing every subject. They also kept warning me I’d end up at the Texas Youth Commission if I didn’t stop using drugs and skipping school.

Well, it finally happened. I got sent to the TYC. But I think it was pretty good for me. I had to go to counseling, and my days were so regimented that I didn’t have the chance to skip out on doing the things everybody had been trying to get me to do. My grades came up, and things were looking better.

I finished the TYC program in nine months and was sent back home on parole. The bad part is I got sent back to my same old neighborhood and same household environment. I couldn’t seem to get a job because of my past, and my old friends kept calling, wanting to hang out.

I lasted one month before I started using drugs again. Right now I’m working on a plan to rob the neighborhood convenience store. Hopefully I’ll score enough cash to keep me high for a long time.

Sandlin, Hunt County Juvenile Probation serves on the DFG Public Education Committee